Chapter 607 Before the game

As the Champions League group stage comes to an end, Liverpool's opponents in the next round of quarter-finals have also become clear.

Because Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham all qualified second in the group, and due to the avoidance principle of the Champions League quarter-final draw, teams assigned to the same group in the group stage cannot meet, and teams from the same league cannot meet.

Therefore, Liverpool's opponents in the quarter-finals have suddenly lost four teams, leaving only Atletico Madrid, Schalke 04, Ajax and Roma, which may become opponents in the quarter-finals. .

And all of this will have to wait until December 17 to be announced. At that time, the entire Liverpool team is preparing to go to the Club World Cup, and the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will be held in February next year. .

Therefore, all Klopp's attention is now focused on the next double-red club battle with Manchester United at home.

Judging from the current situation in the Premier League, except for Wolves, whose game was postponed due to the Club World Cup, and Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal, who have not yet played against Liverpool, other Premier League teams have been defeated by Liverpool.

It can be said that the current Liverpool team is at its peak. Once Liverpool solves the traditional giants such as Manchester United and Arsenal, then Liverpool can be said to be unrivaled in the Premier League and the Champions League as well. in this way.

Of course, there are no underdogs in the Premier League now, and teams such as Manchester United and Arsenal have not yet played against Liverpool, so everything is still unknown.

In the Champions League, the teams selected after the group stage are all strong teams. Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Bayern, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, etc. all have a chance to defeat Liverpool, but in the end it all depends on Liverpool's state.

Therefore, the double-red club battle held at Anfield Stadium on the 16th is the best event to test Liverpool's recent state.

Manchester United coach Mourinho has been under a lot of pressure recently. He said earlier that Manchester United must not lose in the Premier League in December, otherwise the team will lose its competitive position in the standings.

So far, Manchester United has done it in the first three games in December, and whether it can do it in the fourth game, I am afraid no one is sure.

The main injured players in Manchester United currently include Sanchez, Luke Shaw, Rojo and Lindelof. In addition, it is doubtful whether Martial and Smalling can play in this game.

Judging from the injury list, Manchester United seems to be seriously short of players now, but it should be no problem to field a defense lineup that is similar to Valencia in the last Champions League match. It's just that Phil Jones's The competitive state is not very ideal.

So to put it simply, Manchester United will definitely not be able to field the strongest lineup in this double red club battle. However, in the positions where some of the main players are injured, the replacements are not complete substitutes. Players with certain abilities.

As for Liverpool, after the Champions League group stage ended, the team had a routine inspection. Defender Matip was injured during the game and was unable to play in the Premier League this round. Fortunately, another central defender Lovren recovered from injury in time and was able to Taking Matip's place.

In addition, Henderson was suspended for this round and will not be able to play. Salah and Gomez also continue to be absent due to injuries.

But as we all know, Liverpool's forwards have improved recently. In the game against Hoffenheim, Mane and Firmino scored, and Shaqiri also had an assist.

Coupled with the fact that Li Qing is currently the top scorer in the Premier League and has scored far more goals than his competitors behind him, Liverpool does not have to worry too much about their offensive power.

It's just that without Matip and Gomez, the quality and highest point of Liverpool's defense will decline compared with previous games.

In addition, I don’t know if it was because of the last round of the Champions League group stage that the atmosphere in the team became a bit weird, especially the head coach Klopp who never made any statement after the game, which made many people feel a little worried. .

Of course, these people do not include Li Qing. He did not play in the Champions League and is one of the main players in the team who rarely gets rest. Klopp did not make any special training requirements for Li Qing, so Li Qing was training. Most of the time I spend running laps to keep fit.

"Li, do you think the coach is still angry with me?" Henderson ran up to Li Qing and started to make insinuations.

In the last game, he was the captain on the field, allowing the team to be suppressed by the opponent for most of the game. As the captain, he must be responsible, especially on the field, he did not discover that his teammate Matip was injured, which resulted in The team conceded its second goal.

So even though Henderson and Matip both scored goals in the game, they were very uneasy inside.

Li Qing was a little bit dumbfounded. Recently, he expressed his helplessness towards his nagging captain. How could he know what he didn't know?

In Li Qing's view, it is inevitable for Klopp to be angry. Since he knows that the head coach is angry, there is no point in asking questions. Adjusting the state and winning the game is the key. Why think about so many things and nothing? ?

"Captain, if you are free, pay attention to our opponents in the Club World Cup and think about how we can defeat our opponents in West Asia. As for the coach, when we win against Manchester United, everything will be fine."

Li Qing spoke in an understatement, but Henderson felt even more confused, "No, Li, do you know something? If you know something, tell me quickly, don't..."

"Jordan!" Li Qing quickly interrupted Henderson, "You are too nervous. You will make me nervous too. Relax. I will lead the team to score a few more goals in the game against Manchester United." Don’t worry, it’s okay!”

"But..." Henderson began to worry about the game again, "I can't play in Manchester United's game. Apart from you, Mane and Firmino never performed well against Manchester United..."

"Stop!" Li Qing stopped and glared at Henderson angrily. He looked around and saw no one else looking over. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't think so much. As long as I'm here, everything won't be a problem! "

After saying that, Li Qing stopped talking to Henderson and ran forward faster. Henderson chased him for a few steps, but found that he was getting further and further away and had no choice but to stop.

Noticing that Henderson had not caught up, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief. The captain was good at everything, except that he was easily nervous and worried about gains and losses off the court, and he lacked the determination and determination on the court.

Maybe this has something to do with his previous experience. After all, in the initial stage of joining Liverpool, Henderson was always criticized. At that time, Ferguson was still at Manchester United. Every time the Double Red Club met, he would make fun of Henderson and laugh at him for being a Liverpool player. Parallel imports.

Even the local Liverpool newspaper "Echo" at the time often commented on Henderson, saying, "Sometimes it is really painful to watch Henderson play!"

But who would have thought that Henderson would later be able to establish his position at Liverpool and take over the captain's armband from Gerrard?

It seems that the captain is really old, so let me, the captain, lead the team fearlessly and continue its glory!

As Li Qing thought, the frequency of running became faster...